Former Labour MP Kevin Hughes dies

A former Labour MP who stood down at last year's general election due to ill-health has died, it was announced today.

Kevin Hughes, 53, died yesterday after suffering from a variant of motor neurone disease.

A former coal-miner and National Union of Mineworkers' official, he represented the seat of Doncaster North from 1992 until 2005 and served as an assistant government whip in Tony Blair's first term in office from 1997 to 2001.

Denis MacShane, Labour MP for the nearby constituency of Rotherham, paid tribute to Mr Hughes as "hard-working, loyal and utterly committed to Doncaster and the mining community he came from".

He added: "His death at a young age after being struck by illness which led to his forced retirement from the Commons is a great loss.

"We have fewer and fewer working-class Labour MPs like Kevin Hughes now, and parliament is the poorer as a result.

"The destruction of Britain's coal-mining industry by Margaret Thatcher has not only left Britain at the mercy of energy politics controlled by outsiders but also done away with a school to train working-class Labour leaders and MPs like Kevin Hughes.

"We mourn his passing and cherish the time spent with him as a good friend and wise counsellor."